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Pinneyum backdrop

Pinneyum

18 August 2016Malayalam2h 2m
out of 10
Mixedlukewarm or divided
Monk Score · 4 scored reviews · 2 not rated

Strong performances can't rescue a sentimental, narratively thin Adoor outing.

Verdict tier Mixed, lukewarm or divided, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.

  • Praised: Lead and veteran performances
  • Criticised: Weak narrative depth and intensity

Audience

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Not streaming in India

Critic consensus

What 6 critics are saying

Critical reception for Pinneyum is largely mixed to negative, with only one reviewer offering strong praise, describing it as the work of a maestro with staggering impact. Where positive notes exist, they center on the performances of Dileep, Kavya Madhavan, and veteran supporting actors. However, a majority of critics found the film to be emotionally overwrought, narratively ineffective, and lacking the depth and intensity associated with director Adoor Gopalakrishnan's earlier classics. Several reviewers specifically criticized it as a weak and sentimental retread of familiar themes.

How the 4 scores spread

2 not-rated reviews aren't plotted

Positive / mixed / negative reviews

Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10

AI-generated summary of 6 critic reviews · may contain errors

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From the papers

Critic reviews (6)

Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated

  1. Top critic

    NDTV

    Film review ·

    Pinneyum is clearly the work of a maestro who has nothing to prove: undemonstrative but staggeringly impactful.
  2. Sify

    Film review ·

    Pinneyum ends up as unintentionally funny and inane to the core. It's better if this one is forgotten as a bad dream.
  3. Times Of India

    Film review ·

    Dileep and Kavya Madhavan present subtle performances and can be considered the only saving factors of the film. Nedumudi Venu, Vijayaraghavan and Indrans also do their parts well. However, with regard to the two teenage actors in the movie, the less said, the better. There is nothing incomprehensible to a lay viewer in Pinneyum, but the intensity and sub-texts one looks forward to is also missing.
  4. NowRunning

    Film review ·

    On retrospect, 'Pinneyum' strikes us as little more than a sentimental pile of overworked emotions. Clearly not a film that one would expect of Adoor, it's an ineffective reformulation of a familiar theme that gets lost between cinematic genres.
  5. Indian Express

    Film review ·

    Pinneyum is certainly not Adoor's best visual expedition, but like his earlier works, the film tries to explore the human psyche through a very ordinary narrative technique.
  6. The Hindu

    Film review ·

    Pinneyum is almost an anachronism in 2016 and lacks everything that makes his old classics an engaging watch even today.

Credits

Cast & crew

Cast

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